FanFic 3 The Secrets Of Winnie By Win
by GOFficContest
Summary: Second Place, Score 78


Fanfic #3 The Secrets of Winnie   
  
Winnie Falon, with nerves beyond feeling gripped the stool as the hat was gently placed on her head. It was silent for a moment, but then to her amazement the hat started to speak to her. "Very tough choice I see, brilliant mind yes...very clever. Brave, and an unquenchable thirst for adventure! Always willing to help others...but you seek solitude I see. Power! There is blinding power. More than I have ever witnessed in such a small girl. Slytherin would be best...yes...yes." Winnie was too shocked to argue and before she could protest, the hat rang loud and clear. "Slytherin!"  
  
In a daze, Winnie stepped down from the stool and walked to the table. She tried not to look at the disappointed faces of the boys she had met on the train, Ron and Harry, who had been sorted into Gryffindor. On the train, they had talked about how getting placed in Slytherin was worse than being completely rejected! With a rather forced smile, she sat down at the Slytherin table at one of the only empty seats next to a blonde boy, who seemed rather pleased with her presence. When the sorting was over, the grand feast began. To Winnie's surprise and deep pleasure, food of every kind appeared on mountains of sparkling gold plates. Temporarily forgetting her sorting problems, Winnie ate and drank to her heart's content. With half a mind, she listened to the boy next to her who had introduced himself as Draco. While the other girls around him found him quite charming, and tried to get into conversation, Winnie found him quite boring. He talked about nothing interesting, only his family wealth and background. Winnie refrained from telling him that she was only a muggle, and had no magical background of any sort.  
  
Finally the feast was over, and the Slytherin group was led to their common rooms. Classes didn't start until the Monday, and it was a Friday evening. Before she went to her dormitory, Draco came over once again and smiled at her. He looked as though he was going to start another dull conversation, so Winnie smiled back and headed up the stairs. When her back was turned she let out a sigh of disgust, hoping that he would not continue to bother her. She quickly hurried up the remainder of the steps and collapsed on her dormitory bed. As usual, she paid the other occupants no mind. Again, Winnie was disturbed by the fact that she had been sorted into Slytherin. She did not like to think of herself as that type, and the thought troubled her all through her restless sleep. She gave up on any hope of sleep, and instead her mind strayed to other things. The common room was nice, but quiet. She usually loved silence, but this kind was awkward, and even though Winnie never got chilled the common room was not as cozy as she thought the Gryffindor one probably was.  
  
It was about 3:00 when Winnie jolted and sat straight up in bed, breathing hard. Sighing, Winnie laid back down and wondered when she had drifted off to sleep. Nightmares had troubled her ever since she was a small child. Feeling completely rested, Winnie slipped out of bed without a sound and headed towards the common room. There was no one in sight, so she walked around freely. She came to a vast mirror, that stretched the length of the wall. A tall figure, with flowing golden hair and ocean blue eyes stared back at her. Winnie could not disguise the sadness that she held from herself, or for some reason the sorting hat, but she was able to fool others. Thinking back, Winnie realized why her and Harry and gotten along so well. They were both in the same situation, parentless and without anywhere to go in the world. Winnie almost smiled as she remembered her parents, they would spend endless hours in the gardens, pretending to be elves just like in the stories they would read to her. Winnie still kept the books with her wherever she went. When not in Hogwarts, Winnie had stayed at a boarding school that she loathed. The professors could not understand her restlessness to go and do where and as she pleased. Only under lucky chance was she able to keep her horse there, and Winnie thought with another sad tear at her heart that it was her horse that she missed most of all.  
  
Thinking of her horse, Winnie wondered how her owl was doing. While in Diagon Alley, she had immediately set eyes on a fierce-looking Eagle owl, black as coal. The shopkeepers were desperately glad to get rid of him, he was nasty to them and even they trembled at the thought of going near him. They glanced at Winnie with horror and complete amazement as the owl accepted her touch, feeling the silky feathers running down his back. He had no name and Winnie could see he was happier that way, in a sense, she thought he felt free, though he wished more than anything to please Winnie. Winnie pulled at her wand and glanced at it. It was 8 inches, made of Mahogany and 1 hair of a unicorn. While nothing special appeared to Winnie, she remembered how Mr. Ollivander threw uneasy glances in her direction ever since the wand lit at her fingertips. She sat down in an overstuffed chair, and again drifted into uneasy sleep.  
  
Days turned into weeks and as time flew by Winnie realized she had already been at Hogwarts 3 weeks and it felt like the home she never had. She had many classes with Ron and Harry and they often spent classes enjoying themselves rather than listening to the professor. Winnie didn't mind though, she always caught onto the material very quickly, much early than anybody else. At first, Ron and Harry had been awkward toward her, but they slowly warmed up. Draco had been following her endlessly, trying to get on her good side. She showed though, that there was more to a girl than beauty and that she was not in need nor want of his company.   
  
One day, Ron and Harry seemed particularly excited though they would not tell Winnie of anything. By the end of Transfiguration however, she had slowly dragged it out of them. Ron told her eagerly, "Harry is the new Gryffindor seeker!" Winnie showed her happiness for her friend, and kept her envy inward. The tryouts for Slytherin seeker were that night, and she knew there was no hope for her. Later that night, Winnie once again was filled with nerves, but this time she gripped a broomstick instead of a stool. She ignored the laughter coming from the teammates as she approached the captain. There were only one other trying out, a boy by the name of Garrett. Impatiently the captain glanced at Winnie and questioned rather rudely. "What do you want." Winnie was unmarked by the comment however and replied back indignantly, "To try out of course, why else would I waste my time here with you and a broomstick?" The captain looked at her, hoping it was a joke and Winnie knew why. All of the members were big, muscular boys and by the looks of it always had been. Garrett kicked off and Winnie followed him as she heard the captain stifle a laughter. The tryout consisted of an obstacle course, with 5 rings you had to find throughout it. Each of them were timed and it was decided that the fastest would be granted the position. Winnie joyously flew up in the air, as close to horseback riding as she could get. With extreme ease she whipped through the course, making swift turns and daring drops. Within 3 minutes she had collected all the strategically placed rings and crossed the finish line. Two minutes later, Garrett came huffing after her looking quite disheartened to have been crushed by a girl.  
  
"So it is decided then." Said the captain. "Garrett shall be granted the position." Winnie stood and gaped at him, wondering what in his possessed mind could have led him to that decision. He answered as if he could read her face. "I know you finished first Winnie, but speed isn't everything and it is clear that Garrett has much better strategy." Knowing arguing wouldn't help, Winnie angrily slammed down her broom and stormed seething off the field.  
  
Winnie walked around the Hogwarts ground wanting something to do. She didn't feel like going back into the castle yet. Her eyes turned towards the Forbidden Forest. Getting a curious urge, she stepped forward and saw a white glimmer among the trees. Her heart leapt and without a moment's hesitation she disappeared into the forest. She looked around, but the creature was nowhere in site. Wandering deeper and deeper into the forest, she lost track of time. The multiple trees and no path told her she was definitely lost, but for some reason she didn't care. A small stream trickled from a lost source, and she sat down and ran her hands through the water. She began to sing a song that her mother once taught her, with a haunting melody. It sounded as though it almost shouldn't be sung, as though it was something long forgotten and now just a faint memory of times long ago and times that would never come again. But now, sitting down on a nearby log it was something that deeply comforted her. "a Galad ven i reniar hi 'aladhremmin ennorath. A Elbereth Gilthoniel ithil nâ thûl, ithil lîn hen... " Her sweet voice echoed through the forest, and from the trees she heard a tiny rustle.  
  
Out bounded a unicorn, glowing white as starlight and with its mane rippling like the ocean waves washing on shore. It had no fear of Winnie, and he lowered his head and came trotting over. She put her hand on his head, almost afraid to breathe. He tossed his head and made a sound not unlike her horse at home. Knowing that he would get her out of the forest, she swiftly climbed on his back and he leapt once again through the trees. He gracefully cantered through the forest, gently soaring over falling logs and waving through the trees. Winnie felt as though she was in a dream, the wind blew her hair and only the quiet sound of hoofbeats was heard. They came to the edge of the forest and Winnie saw that it was evening, and guessed that everybody was inside eating. The unicorn paid no mind to the fact that they were no longer hidden among the trees. It trotted down the side of the lake and took Winnie all the way to Hagrid's hut.  
  
Suddenly, what looked like a horribly twisted wolf darted also out of the trees and came hurtling out at Winnie and the unicorn. Feeling no fear, the unicorn reared up and pawed the air with its gleaming hooves. He came down upon the wolf and galloped away, with Winnie taken by surprise and holding panicked onto his mane. He galloped all the way to the Hogwart's door and Winnie slipped off. She gave him an affectionate rub and he trotted off, probably to go back and deal with the wolf. Winnie was relieved and silently as she could, opened the door to go back in. She was met by a very tall and dark figure. Snape. He wore an evil grin that told Winnie he was going to punish her for something. He hadn't exactly been fond of her ever since she came into the classroom. He knew she wasn't meant to be in slytherin, and she knew it too. She gritted her teeth and turned around hoping he hadn't seen the unicorn. But she heard his deadly whisper and knew he had. "Winnie Falon..."  
  
To be continued... 


End file.
